Research on Social Policy: Proposals for a Future Agenda
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Researeh on Soeial Poliey: Proposais for a Future Agenda Edited hy: Mario Torres July 1993 Research on Social Policy: Proposais for a Future Agenda Edited by Mario Torres INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE Ottawa • Cairo • Dakar • Johannesburg • Montevideo • Nairobi • New Delhi • Singapore Material contained in this report is produced as submitted and has not been subjected to peer review or editing by IDRC Public Information Program staff. Unless otherwise stated, copyright for material in this report is held by the authors. Mention of a proprietary name does not constitute endorsement of the product and is given only for information. ISBN 0-88936-700-0 0 Printed on recycled paper TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD V INTRODUCTION The Social Challenge in Development. From Economie to Social Policies Daniel A. Morales-G6mez 3 FIRST PART: THE PROBLEM Social Policies: Rethinking Essential Development Mario Torres . 19 SECOND PART: ALTERNATIVES AND PROPOSALS The Case Studies: Peru, Colombia, Chile 41 Social Policy and Development in Peru Javier Abugattas . 45 Educational Policy and Social Policy Gloria He/fer Palacios . 59 The Crisis of Data for Social Policy in Peru Richard Webb . 71 Social Pollcles in Colombian Development Juan Luis Londot'io . 81 Access, Quality and Equity in Education Miguel Urrutia M. 95 Social Security and Health Services in Colombia Humberto Rojas Rufz . 103 Information Requirements for Social Policy in Colombia Rafael Echeverri Perico . 119 Social Policies in Chile: Research Needs Mariana Schkolnik . 133 iii Social Policy Research: Current Issues in Chile Ana Sojo . 149 Social Policy and Democratic Governability Carlos Vergara . 165 THIRD PART: FINAL THOUGHTS Social Policy Research: What to do? Mario Torres . 177 iv FOREWORD Human development is bath a critical means ta sustainable development and its ultimate goal. However, in the 1980s, a widely spread economic crisis crippled the policies and programs designed ta respond ta the basic needs of the poor in most developing countries. Toclay, there is growing recognition that the paralysis and the dismantling of social programs are a major obstacle ta economic growth and sound environmental management. Recent research into a decade of experimentation is beginning ta show that while stabilization programs may produce short-term economic equilibrium, the structural adjustment programs that accompany them do not necessarily produce growth. This evidence is leading national governments and international agencies ta realize that stagnant social development hampers transformation and liberalization and can prevent the establishment of sustainable market economies. The central raie of social policies is now being acknowledged. They are seen as an interrelated set of public actions whose purpose is ta create the human foundation for sustainable development and equitable economic growth. ln 1990, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) began an internai review of the contents of its research programs in the area of human development. Research in Latin America examining the impact of the crisis on different social sectors and designing a new social research agenda, more attuned ta emerging policy priorities, was an important input into this review. Extensive regional consultations revealed a need ta re-examine the approaches previously used ta address human development issues. A frèsh and innovative understanding of the relationship between persistent poverty, economic marginalization and limited social. and political participation began ta emerge. ln 1991 and 1992, the Centre organized a series of meetings, consultancies and seminars bringing together policy-makers, researchers and practitioners from diverse social policy fields. More in-clepth examinations were undertaken in Colombia, Chile and Peru. These became case studies of the social policy situation in countries at different stages of development and facing different institutional, economic and political challenges. The results were rewarding. Suggestions were made ta focus on innovative and integrated views about human development issues and policies. There was consensus on the need ta organize a Research Program on Social Policy in the region ta examine key human development problems and ta identify strategic social interventions. Economie globalization and internai institutional reforms make this not only necessary but indispensable. Governments and societies in the region are under mounting pressure ta adjust rapidly ta a new development context. Economie, social and political pressures on young democratic regimes in Latin America and elsewhere in the Third World limit their room ta manoeuvre. Future development programs and initiatives will require more focussed, effective, efficient and, especially, more socially relevant policy interventions. Policy relevant research will be necessary if V strengthening local research capacities and empowering people are to become the critical. pillars of sustainable development models. With Research on Social Policy: Proposais for a Future Agenda the Centre contrlbutes to the ongoing debate on social policy in Latin America and in other reglons. The issues discussed in this collection of articles eut across a rich variety of problems and tapies. Their authors share the belief that more lnter-sectoral and multidlsciplinary approaches are necessary to address the social challenges posed by the economic changes and the social and political reforms underway in most countries. The alm of this compendium is to show the need for more integrated efforts in social research, training and policy decision-making bath to guide development and to attain lts goals. Ottawa, April 1993 Caroline Pestieau Director General Social Sciences Division vi INTRODUCTION THE SOCIAL CHALLENGE IN DEVELOPMENT. FROM ECONOMIC TO SOCIAL POLICIES Daniel A. Morales-G6mez1 INTRODUCTION The world is going through changes unimaginable only a few years back. Well established socio-political paradigms have crumbled, and accepted development models are in doubt. The concept of development itself must be revisited within the conflicting views of a "new world order" still not well understood. This environment of change presents tremendous challenges. ln the developing world, change places new demands on resources, human and financial, that are already stretched thin. However, this is neither exclusively an issue of availability of resources nor purely an economic phenomenon. Underdevelopment continues to be deeply rooted in poverty. lts impact on the capacity of individuals and societies to assume a leading role in their own change remains the main obstacle to achieving equitable and sustainable development. The underlining human development issues of today are both, achieving an ethical distribution of the available wealth, and an equitable access to the benefits of growth. The generation of a new development ethos, as the foundation of a new polity, is the core social challenge developing countries face in the road towards the next century. A refurbished discourse about development emphasizes the availability and better use of resources, both natural and economic, as keys to poverty eradication and alleviation efforts. To an extent, these concerns reflect the myriad of problems affecting countries in the South. However, it is the persistent accumulation of wealth among a few, nationally and internationally, and the unequal distribution of the benefits of growth, that continue making development unsustainable. The paradox of the 1990s is that the current changes in the world economic order tend to reinforce rather than to make the disparities disappear. "Despite economic growth, most ... countries face severe social problems .... ln other words, recent progress has not generated more 1 Chilean. M.A. in Education, Stanford University. Ph.D. in Education, University of Toronto, Canada. Areas of interest: International comparative education, educational policy and planning, and sociology of education. Latest books: The State, Corporatist Politics and Educational Policy Making in Mexico (PRAEGER 1990), and Education Policy and Social Change. Experiences from Latin America (PRAEGER 1992). He is currently Director of the Social Policy Program, Social Sciences Division, International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada. 3 opportunities for the poor. Nor has it distributed benefits more efficiently" (Esquel, 1993: 2). If the policies and adjustments to combat poverty do not go beyond the predominant neo-classical economic interpretation of development, the solutions to be found are likely to have limited impact on the pervading inequities affecting the growing disadvantaged sectors of society. This scenario raises some critical questions about what needs to be done to bulld a new basis for sustainable development in the twentieth first century. There is a need to better understand, (1) how, on what basis, and with what effects decisions about the re-distribution of social resources are made and implemented; (2) how to improve public policy-rnaking in general and social policy-making ln particular to achieve a greater impact on the well-being of individuals; and (3) what new forms of governance must be set in place to enhance social participation, consolidate democracy, and have a long lasting impact on eliminating poverty and facilitating hurnan development.2 The purpose of this article is twofold. First, it discusses the need to revisit some of the assumptions of the predominant international